PhD - Alumni

Supervisor: Prof. Ilan Sharon

Abstract: Cooking vessels occupy an important place in the archaeological research. The manufacturing of cooking pots is a result of a careful production process; modification of this production process can be indicative of social and behavioral changes. During the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods (ca. 500BCE through ca. 250CE), a gradual revolution occurred in cooking vessels production at Phoenicia, in the southern Levantine coast, that made the Phoenician kitchen – and dinner table – more diverse. I wish to consider how and why production of cooking vessels changed in this period. I will do so by examining Phoenician workshop production to determine what types of vessels local potters developed and what they borrowed. I am interested in determining the extent to which local workshops used potting techniques, originating from other areas around the eastern Mediterranean, shaping new assemblage of cooking vessels. This will allow to move from archaeological evidence – such as the manufacture of new types of cooking vessels – to the interpretation of behaviors.

Rotenstreich Stipend 2013/14

Subject: Spain's Golden Age Literary Genres in Historical Context: Control and Freedom under eyes of the Inquisition

Supervisor: Prof. Ruth Fine

Abstract: In my Ph.D. dissertation I plan to explore the literary mechanisms of two important Golden Age genres, the Pastoral Novel and the Picaresque Novel, in relation to the historical climate of Spain under the Inquisition. I hope that my research will bring about a new comprehension of the genres in question as well as better understanding of the fascinating complexity of the history of that period. 

Bio: I am a student of Latin languages and Spanish literature. I have studied in Spain (in Salamanca, in 2008, before I started my university studies, and in Granada, in 2016) and in Germany (in Göttingen, in 2012), but I did most of my studies in the Department of Romance and Latin American Studies at the Hebrew University. In my MA studies, I focused on Spanish literature of the golden age, and investigated, under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Fine, two literary genres: the Picaresque novel and the Pastoral novel. In my doctoral dissertation, I intend to expand the literary scope and the historical and social perspective. In addition to my academic activity, my main hobby is chess. I participate in competitions since 2002. I look forward with hope and curiosity to the next four years at Mandel School.

President Stipend 2017/18

Supervisor: Prof. Orly Shenker

Abstract: In my research I analyze the main philosophical implications of the probability space. This mathematical structure is the core part of Kolmogorov's theory and is the dominant structure being used (sometimes implicitly) when calculating probabilities. Hence, it can said that the probability space is applicatively accepted by almost all the different interpretations of probability theory as an appropriate mathematical formalism of the notions: 'probability' and 'event'. However, accepting this formalism has ontological consequences on the possible interpretations which should be taken into consideration. Besides analyzing these consequences, I will also attempt to show how an analysis of the probability space structure helps to clarify major issues in philosophy of probability such as the Indifference Principle and the Reference Class Problem.

Presidential Stipend 2013/14

Supervisor: Prof. Hillel Cohen, Prof. Israel Gershoni 

Abstract: In his research Osheroff examines how the concept of Jewish national minority rights—in Palestine and in the region as a whole—was debated and discussed in the Palestinian and pan-Arab sphere from after the First World War until 1967. Osheroff focuses on the different plans devised by Arab intellectuals and leaders to solve the "Palestine problem" and the "Jewish question" within the framework of non-statist or quasi-statist agendas such as cantonization, federalization of Palestine, or different conceptualizations of autonomy for the Jewish minority in the Middle East.

Short Bio: Eli Osheroff is a PhD candidate in the department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Rotenstreich Stipend 2017/18

Presidential Stipend 2015/16

Subject: The Aramaic Targum to Canticles: A Critical Edition with Textual and Linguistic Studies

Supervisor: Prof. Steve Fassberg

Abstract: The dissertation comprises three main parts:
a) Division of scores of manuscripts into groups and sub-groups, and study of the textual history and development. 
b) Detailed, in-depth study of the language of Targum Canticles, compared with the language of other Targumim, other works from the approximate era, and other Aramaic dialects. Special attention will be paid to the various vocalization methods in European manuscripts. 
c) A critical edition of Targum Canticles based on eleven manuscripts and two Geniza fragments, showing textual and vocalization variants, with textual and linguistic notes.  

Short Bio: Hsin-Chih Perng, a native of Taiwan, became interested in Jewish culture, especially in Hebrew and Aramaic. His main areas of research are Jewish Aramaic dialects and Jewish manuscripts of Aramaic Targumim.

Publications: 

"שימושי המילית 'כען' בתרגומי ארץ ישראל", לשוננו עט (תשע״ז), עמ' 112–144

"חילופי בניינים בארמית יהודית מאוחרת", העברית והארמית בימי הביניים:  עיונים בלשון ובחוכמת הלשון, בעריכת א' בר־אשר סיגל וד' יעקב, ירושלים תש''ף, עמ' 187–219

"גיוון לשוני מכוון בארמית יהודית ספרותית מאוחרת", לשוננו פג (תשפ''א), עמ' 141–167

"קטעי תרגום אסתר מן הגניזה: נוסח ולשון", לשוננו פג (תשפ''א), עמ' 360–379

"Preservation or Correction? On the Peculiarities of Ms Paris 110 and Current Trends in Targumic Studies", Aramaic Studies 18.2 (2020), pp. 198–212

President Stipend 2017/18

Subject: "The Devil Spoke from Scripture" (John Chrysostom, Aversus Judaeos 6.6.8)
Sacred Violence Representations in Late Antiquity Between Jews and Christians 

Supervisor: Prof. Oded Irshai

Abstract: Late antiquity appears to be an extremely violent period, which is characterized with zeal and religious fervor, practiced by large groups of mobs. The descriptions of the events arise from chronicles and other contemporary texts indicate that the Jews, alongside other Christian groups, took part in the brawls, occasionally out of self-defense, and sometimes as promoters, while espousing violent herd behavior, by means of incitement, as well as actual violent deeds.
Recently, the phenomenon of religious violence in late antiquity has been the subject of extensive research, which stems from the delineation of these centuries (4th to 7th) as a period of unique characteristics and as a relatively young research arena, alongside research in social history phenomena and the tendency toward interdisciplinarity. Surprisingly, the place of the Jews in this context is not yet thoroughly investigated.
My research aims to reveal the position of the Jews in the social fabric of late antiquity, and especially their image as emerge from the ecclesiastic historiography of the period. Similar to the paradigm set by Joan Wallach Scott, these issues may arise from an examination of the relationship between the following three factors: the historical event, it's representation and it's acceptance and interpretation among the population. Thus, this research will move on the tension between real and imagined reality while discussing the outcomes of both.

Bio: BA at the Department of Hebrew Literature and the Department of Jewish History, Ben-Gurion University, cum laude. During my studies, I chose to focus on liturgy and Rabbinic literature, while in history I focused on Ancient History and the Middle Ages. MA at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at the Department of Jewish History My thesis dealt with the maintenance of the Babylonian sages' wives, while their husbands were absent in order to study Torah. As part of my graduate studies, I also participated the program of late antiquity.

President Stipend 2018/19

Supervisor: Prof. Esther Cohen

Abstract: What were Anglo-Saxon perceptions of impairment and disability, and how did they effect the lived realities of impaired people? In my dissertation I examine questions of inclusion and exclusion, agency and personhood, lived realities, and cultural constructions of impairment in various spheres - personal, social, religious, and political - in order to better understand Anglo-Saxon views on impairment and disability. I show that common attitudes were inclusive and maintained the personhood, agency, and participation of impaired people in society, alongside positive cultural representations which caused, and resulted from, those inclusive attitudes.

Polonsky Stipend 2013/14